One way to provide the appropriate registry settings for each user when you are deploying Office Communicator 2007 R2 is to define Group Policy settings by using an administrative template (.adm) file. Administrative template files contain specific information about which Group Policy settings the application implements, where policies are stored, and how to configure policies.
To define Group Policy settings by using the Communicator 2007 R2 administrative template file
- Copy the Communicator.adm file from your distribution disk to
the %windir%/inf folder.
- Use Microsoft Management Console Group Policy Object Editor to
enable or disable specific policy settings.
You can deploy Communicator 2007 R2 Group Policies without affecting users who are running Communicator 2005.
Group Policy Precedence
Some Communicator 2007 R2 features and behavior can be configured by the administrator who is using Office Communications Server 2007 in-band provisioning, or by the user through the Communicator 2007 R2 Optionsdialog box. However, Group Policy settings take precedence over both methods.
Table 1 summarizes the order in which settings take precedence when a conflict occurs.
Table 1. Order of precedence for Group Policy settings, in-band provisioning, and Options dialog box settings
| Precedence | Location or Method of Setting |
|---|---|
|
1 |
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Communicator |
|
2 |
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Communicator |
|
3 |
Office Communications Server 2007 in-band provisioning |
|
4 |
Communicator 2007 R2 Options dialog box |
Group Policy Updates
The primary reference for current Group Policy settings is the Client_2007_R2_Group_Policy_Settings.xls file, which contains a full definition and values for each policy.
Office Communicator 2007 R2 Group Policy additions are summarized in Table 2.
Table 2. New Group Policy settings
| Policy Name | Definition |
|---|---|
|
AllowSimultaneousRinging |
Allows "simul-ring" (simultaneously ring an additional number when receiving incoming calls). WMI class is MSFT_SIPGlobalUCPolicyData. |
|
DisableHTMLIM |
Disables HTML instant messages. |
|
EnableFullScreenVideoPreviewDisabled |
Enables full-screen video with the correct aspect ratio and disables video preview for all Communicator video calls. |
|
PlayAbbrDialTone |
Changes the length of the dial tone from a 30-second dial tone to a fading, 3-second dial tone. |
|
ConferenceAccess |
Controls whether a conference uses Open Authenticated access or Anonymous access. |
|
PC2PCASEncryption |
For peer-to-peer desktop sharing, controls whether encryption is turned on or off. Note: For conferences, desktop sharing reuses the pool setting for A/V encryption, which also turns desktop sharing encryption on or off |
|
DisableApplicationSharingControl |
Prevents the user from sharing control with anyone during desktop sharing. This setting applies regardless of who started or organized the conference. Set in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE only. Cannot be set on a per-user basis. |